Have you heard of the rumor that every eighth grader at Pine Valley will be supplied with their own personal iPad? Well let me tell you this, it’s not totally true. 

Some students may get iPads, but it might not be eighth graders. A group of teachers from our school will get a class set of 30 to 35 iPads. This long process of supplying iPads is called One on One Electronic Device Initiative. 

The district told Mr. Law about this initiative on February 24, 2012 at Dougherty Valley High School. The school district of San Ramon asked all of the elementary, middle, and high school’s principals to start saving for or buying iPads to give to some teachers at their school, to increase students’ access to technology. 

“The goal is to get electronic devices in the hands of all students in a specific curriculum group in a specific grade level at Pine Valley” said Mr. Law. Purchasing or leasing all of the iPads at the same time would cost over $30,000.  Because it would take a lot of money we would only provide iPads to a portion of the school. 

To reach this goal it will take a long time to slowly give out each class a set of iPads. For example every seventh grader going through science would have an iPad to use in class. Mr. Law has not figured out the security of the iPads or who will get them. Hopefully we will soon hear about who will be among the first students to get the iPads.

Google Docs is an efficient way to share documents, presentations, and other media with your fellow classmates and/or teachers. It’s an easy way to work on a group assignment; you can share pictures, ideas, and you can easily edit something that your classmate added in something you’re not too fond of. Teachers can edit your assignments, too. “It’s a good way to turn in work online,” says Lennart Hertwig. Rachel Macias says, “I definitely think it helps us with partner work and projects at home and at school.”

Though, sometimes, Google Docs isn’t all that pleasant. If you have to turn in something through the website to your teacher and your Internet decides to not work, you might just have to take a big, red zero or go to school early to “Share” it with your teacher and pray that s/he didn’t check to see if everyone turned it in. In some cases, accounts for students weren’t even made!

All in all, this new way to turn in projects has received nice feedback by the students and the teachers at Pine Valley.

Imagine waking up on your birthday thinking of the day ahead of you and instead of relaxing with family and friends, you discover that you’re diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. That’s basically what happened to Deven Leonis. an eighth grader at Junction Avenue K-8 School in Livermore. Deven was diagnosed with Lymphoma on December 9, 2011. Lymphoma is a cancer where lymph nodes that are all over your body swell up in some places because your cells overproduce uncontrollably. Lymphoma is similar to tumors. Since lymph nodes are all over your body, they can swell anywhere. In Deven’s case it was the tonsils-the throat. Leonis said, “I thought I was going to die. But I got over it because there are a lot more people out there that are way worse than me. My cancer is 95 percent curable and some people I have met have been battling cancer for years.” Deven has also been fighting a heart illness that required several heart surgeries.

Deven’s story of cancer inspired his former math teacher, Mr. Youngblood, to shave his head and later on, at least half a dozen other students did too. In order for the school as a whole to support Deven, they also had a beanie day on February 17 where students got to wear their hats all day.   Everyone at Deven’s school has been rallying to bring awareness to leukemia and lymphoma, donating blood, and learning about bone marrow transplants. Like our school, the fundraising program, “Pennies for Patients”, has been in effect so that students and teachers can donate spare change. Pennies for Patients is a nationwide foundation for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for blood cancer research and patient aid. Because of Deven’s cancer, he has brought awareness to his school to participate in the Pennies for Patients. Our school, as well as over 400 in the bay area, have been participating in this program and has raised over 125 million dollars. In addition, a blood drive sponsored by the American Red Cross has been hosted at Deven’s school.         

If something like this event happened to one of the students at Pine Valley, would we have the courage to support our classmates? Would we have the integrity to push aside what they look like? Would you have the strength to help them through all their hardships?

Source: https://www.contracostatimes.com

E-books are the latest and greatest fad.  Kids love their convenience, cost, and technology.  They are easy to carry and easy to read.  Humans have been reading books for hundreds of years and with our new technology this is just a new way to enjoy them.  People are attracted to all of the new e-book holders and other devices that can contain the fun new electronic books.

Books have always been a way of letting an author put down their personal thoughts and feelings and sharing them with the world.  For years we have enjoyed flipping through pages and going on adventures in different worlds and places. We’ve been solving mysteries with Nancy Drew, seeing a forbidden love in Twilight, and following the wars of The Hunger Games.  Some people think that it just isn’t as satisfying to press a button or swipe a screen instead of flipping an actual page.  They have made some machines to look like the page is realistically turning when you swipe your finger to flip the page.

Books capture our attention and drag us on adventures that captivate us, make us cry, and make our hearts soar. None of that changes when you read a book on a screen instead of on a paper page.  Some say that the good thing about e-books is that they don’t use paper so we are saving trees.  

Most of the same people that are against e-books have other complaints like Sophie Cipolla, “Nothing can compare to the ambiance of a real book! You can’t have a cup of coffee with an e-book.”  Some disagree with that saying that the paper had already been cut from the trees and it is just being used.  Whatever it is e-books are good for not getting paper cuts.  Electronic books are things of the future and we might have to switch over to them whether we like it or not.

Do you think the school lunches should be cheaper? Or do you think that there should be more food for the amount you are paying? Many students at Pine Valley buy a school lunch every day, from the classic cheese or pepperoni pizza to the special item of the day. And majorities say that the one entree, milk, salad, and choice of a cookie or a bag of chips isn’t enough. Well what do a few people do? They buy two main courses! Now that means they have to pay eight dollars for their lunch! the lunches look big, but are they filled with enough nutrients to fill us up? And this is also because since we (the students) are growing every day, we tend to have a big appetite, especially boys. 

People say that we should increase the healthiness of our food, but does that mean we should decrease the amount of food we eat? One of the main reasons kids buy food from school is because we don’t have to carry a box in a bag to school, and some of us wouldn’t like to carry an extra three to four pounds a day.

In a school poll, 73% of students say that the lunch cost should be cheaper and 27% say there should be more food. So that shows that more people want more food and are ok with the four dollar lunch. Alek Feher says, “There should be more choices of food for people.”

So does that mean that we should change the entire lunch system so that our stomachs are full without starving our wallets? Maybe we should! Or should we change one thing to satisfy the whole schools needs? It all depends on how we see our lunch system fit.

Strike! Pine Valley students are getting prepared for their softball and baseball season. Those are one of the most popular sports for students. It may be a fun sport, but does it affect your schoolwork and grades?  

Ayza Murcia says, “I love softball, but it does affect my schoolwork. I have practices thirty minutes away in Oakland everyday so it’s hard for me to finish my homework. On weekends I have tournaments which cause me to be tired at the end of the day and I need time to rest.” 

Baseball and softball may affect your school work, but Pavin Virdee says, “No it doesn’t affect my schoolwork because school comes first and before sports. I can’t go to practice until all my homework is finished.”  

Some ways to balance your practices or games with schoolwork is to do the schoolwork that’s due the next day before your practice, then after your practice do the homework that is due in future days. That way, it gives you the advantage of finishing work and a whole lot of stress weighs off your shoulders. 

Does baseball or softball affect your schoolwork?

1. Is a seventh grade core teacher

2. Has been teaching here at Pine Valley since 2001

3.  Loves to read and play sports

4. Coaches boys basketball

Answer:  Ms. Ciriaco

Many students these days think that parents seeing their grades on Schoolloop is a bad thing, but there are some reasons it’s not. 

Not every student writes down assignments, and most don’t check Schoolloop daily because of binder reminders, so if there’s a test, parents could immediately remind you and save you a quick five minute cram of studying before a test. 

Everybody of course hates the lecture about bad grades from their parents, but if they didn’t see your grades, you would eventually forget or just not care, and they can remind you or give you good ideas for you to raise your grade to keep a better G.P.A. If you didn’t catch the little mistakes teachers can make, parents are always there to rescue and immediately tell you so, who knows how much they could’ve just helped you. 

With all the social media sites, procrastinating is a big part of an after school routine to some, and students could easily lie to get out of getting right down to homework. But because homework is being posted daily, parents could easily help you stay on track, this not only helps you in school, but it also gives you more time for sports, or just hanging out with friends. 

Now can you imagine parents not seeing all this? This is why it’s always a good thing that they see your Schoolloop.

We all have certain things that make us shiver or jump: fears. Even if it’s spiders or the dark, people are afraid of different things. 

Emma Kroger says, “I’m scared of humpback whales because they’re huge and scary.” Others can say that they’ve been influenced by movies or past experiences. 

Some people are scared of things that are on our campus, mentally and physically. Hailey Meyer says,” I’m afraid of falling into the ‘Third Quarter Slump.’” 

Sometimes, it may just be something that’s in our head . Jesse Chan says, “My greatest fear is peer pressure because your peers can force you to do things you don’t want to do.” 

Besides the fact that our education can actually mess with our heads, animals can too. Olivia Duba says, “Birds scare me because they can attack your head or poop on you.” They aren’t alone, we all have our fears, whether we like it or not. 

Our fears can show us who we really are. So, what’s your greatest fear?

1. Put Saran wrap over the door to their room. [this really annoys them.]

2. Say there is something interesting outside, and when they go outside, lock all the doors.

3. Go to their school, find them and say loudly “Is that the person you like?” while pointing at a random person.

4. Put moisturizer on their door handle so it will be hard to turn the knob.

5. Set their alarm clock to an early time and put it up on a hard to reach place so they can’t turn it off.

6. Pretend you have gone deaf.

7. Short sheet their bed. {Google it if you don’t know what it is}

8. Play “The Circle Game” with your sibling. [slowly make a circle with your fingers by your side. If they look at your hand, punch them and say  “you lose”.]

9. Draw on them while they’re sleeping.

10. While they are watching TV, slowly walk in front of them or the TV.

Dear Puma,

My sister’s boyfriend is driving me crazy. When he gets in a vehicle of any kind, all sanity goes out the window--he runs red lights, texts and eats while driving, and shouts really weird insults at the other drivers. He called someone a fried chipmunk once. How do I get him to calm down?

- Angry Chipmunk

Dear Angry Chipmunk,

If he’s calling people fried chipmunks, then that’s disturbing, to say the least. Just try to stay away from him if you can. Always have some excuses ready if he approaches you about going on a ride, like desperately needing to organize your Pokemon cards or something. If you don’t have another option, try reverse psychology and creep him out instead. Bottom line: if you think he’s an unsafe driver, don’t get in the car with him!

Dear Puma,

  My friend keeps bragging about her spring vacation to Bora Bora. I’m happy for her and all, but considering my break is gonna be pet sitting my cousin’s dog, Gary, I’m kind of hoping she’ll shut up. How can I get her to stop?

- Jealousy in CA

Dear Jealousy,

If you haven’t told her how  she’s irritating, it’s worth trying. Not everyone goes to exotic locales for Spring Break. Explain to her that your bragging is hurting your feelings, and if she doesn’t accept that, it’s time to find a new friend that respects you. 

Dear Puma,

My dream is to become a model, but I’m scared of actually competing. I watch America’s Next Top Model daily for practice, but it doesn’t really help. How am I supposed to answer any of the questions they ask me, like how the state of the economy is or something?

-Miss USA

Dear USA,

I’m not that experienced with modeling stuff, but I doubt that any of the questions you’d be asked would have to do with finance. If you’re asked something you have no idea how to respond to, just completely ignore the question and say how you plan to promote world peace or reconstruct society. The judges will love you.  Just  be yourself.

For the last twenty five years (since 1985)  San Ramon has been putting together brilliant firework shows at Central Park. Thousands of people from all over the Tri-Valley gather to watch in awe the extraordinary fireworks display. 

A rumor has gone around town saying fireworks won’t be present this year. Sadly, that is not a rumor! Bill Clarkson (our new mayor) and the City Council has accepted the idea to cancel the fireworks show! 

In 2011 the city said they spent about $175,000 on the event. They estimate if the event occurred this year it would be around $318,000, due to the extra costs for such a large event which is far too much! 

City manager, Greg Rogers explained, “With more and more people coming to the fireworks show, the City Council determined the size of the event had outgrown the city’s resources to host it.” The city of San Ramon wondered if it was even worth displaying. 

It is clear that the final decision was made on February 28, 2012. On the website, sanramon.patch.com it states, “The council came one vote away from not having any Fourth of July event this year.” Meaning the city of San Ramon wouldn’t even celebrate the Fourth of July. 

However, they came up with an alternative, patriotic event for the Fourth of July, which is to feature concerts. The new event would be called “Celebrate America, Celebrate San Ramon”. Live music will be streaming through Central Park and one of the  bands includes the San Ramon Symphonic Band. The city also wants the Blue Star Moms to be part of this event. 

Don’t give up hope; though the Fireworks are cancelled now they may return in 2013.

  On March 1, 2012 the eighth graders had a meeting with Ms. Damgen leaving many of them worried or maybe even excited. This meeting’s purpose was to prepare the eighth graders for their future at Cal High and beyond. Ms. Damgen explained many important topics such as: classes needed to graduate high school, classes needed to get into college and things that help you get into a good college. She also spent a lot of her time getting a nicely organized packet together to help the soon to be high schoolers pick a college and take the best classes.

        This meeting was continued after school for the parents at night in the MPR. They talked about many things including how to help your child make great choices and also how to help them in high school. It was very educational for many of the parents, because a lot of them have never sent a child through high school, much less college. We can thank Ms. Damgen for helping us with our future and caring about her eighth graders.

Pine Valley has had a lot of new students come from very different places around the country and around the world. But we are here to talk about one girl in the whole entire school that is nice and a fun-loving girl. Blain Henok has arrived at Pine Valley recently and moved from Ethiopia. 

“Moving to California was kind of scary at first because I didn’t know anybody, but once I got to know people and make new friends it was really fun,” says Blain Henok. 

Blain moved here on a Thursday in November in the year of 2010. “I miss the food I used to eat and also my parents,” says Blain. 

Blain has moved here without her parents because she had a medical issue which was eye cancer and she heard she had no hope but to get  the surgery done in America, and the surgery can only be done in America. Also, her parents wanted for her to start a whole new life here. 

Now, Blain is here and she is free from the cancer! That sounds like a really hard thing to deal with. 

Welcome Blain!

Uh-oh, it’s that time of year again... time when people madly hunt for Girl Scout cookies! Everyone wants to sink their teeth into a chocolate-y Thin Mint, a caramel-coated Samoa, a lemony Savannah Smile... or any of the other five delicious cookies. 

Nowadays, it’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t eat them. They taste great, they freeze well, they’re easy to buy - what’s not to like? Some people can’t eat sugar (or choose not to) for whatever reason, and a very few don’t particularly like any of the flavors. 

However, as far as cookies go, Girl Scout cookies are probably some of the healthiest there are! The company that makes Girl Scout cookies for the NorCal Girl Scouts, Little Brownie Bakers, brags on their website and order forms (which, admittedly, aren’t being used very much this year) that most of their cookies don’t use hydrogenated oils or artificial colors. None of the cookies have trans fats or high fructose corn syrup, which is hard to believe because they taste so good! 

Anyway, there’s still another part of Girl Scout Cookies you can’t forget about - the Girl Scouts! One of the best parts about buying cookies is all of the adorable little Girl Scouts who come to your door. Of course, some people might think they’re annoying, but it’s no secret that the littlest girls get the most sales - cuteness sells. If you live in a place where not a lot of Girl Scouts come around, then if might be harder to get your hands on some cookies. One person, Hirali Kadakia, realized she could sell cookies at Pine Valley for a friend of hers. “I was at school and I showed up with a couple of boxes,” she said, “and since a lot of people really like Girl Scout cookies, they asked me if they could buy some.” More and more people bought cookies from her; they hadn’t had any other way of buying them. 

It’s a good thing that students at our school have opportunities like this, because it’s really hard for some people to get themselves those yummy cookies!

Have you noticed that the gas prices have been going up? Have you noticed that there are a kabillion commercials about gas prices and how they are continually rising? Today the current average gas prices in California are: 

Those prices are very close to the highest prices that have been recorded which are: 

As the prices of today’s gas prices accumulate, they are said to skyrocket into the 5 dollar range. That is higher than the record! Julie Silva says, “The high gas prices are affecting my family because it seems like a bunch of money is going out of the window every time we fill up. It’s not like we are millionaires and not having very economic cars, definitely impacts our spending that we could be using to buy other things.” The gas prices are affecting pretty much everyone everywhere. So, what are you doing to save gas and money? Things you could do include; walking and biking to places that are within a walking distance, as well as taking the bus, carpooling, and taking the train.

http://fuelgaugereport.aaa.com/?redirectto=http://fuelgaugereport.opisnet.com/index.asp

On Wednesday, February 29, 2012, CJSF took a field trip to San Francisco for the musical production of Mamma Mia! Before they went to the musical, they went to Pier 39 for lunch and spent two and a half hours there. There were enough shops at Pier 39 that everybody found something to enjoy. 

After the wonderful time at the pier, the CJSF group headed to the theater. The Mamma Mia play lasted for a good three hours. The play featured all the hit songs from the movie Mamma Mia! Belle Goodson said, “The play was fun, but I couldn’t take all the ABBA songs back to back.” Everybody could dance and sing along to it. 

Throughout the play, laughs were heard from the audience as well as silence while the crowd waited for the dramatics. At the end of the play, the crowd gave a standing ovation to the cast. The cast gave an encore of the well-known song Dancing Queen. The whole crowd was swaying to the loud, cheerful music.

Pet peeves can be very annoying. A pet peeve is a particular and often continual annoyance. Pet peeves can be as little as tapping a pen, or as big as getting bullied. Here are common pet peeves:

Using “like” in every sentence

Snorting while laughing

When people take up two spots when they park

Wearing sunglasses inside

Double-dipping

At Pine Valley’s cafeteria this spring, Jamba Juice is supposed to be back from last year. Sadly, it might not be here. Some students complain that last year they said it was coming back at spring, but it never did. We don’t know, maybe because buying the drink is too expensive? Even the cafeteria staff doesn’t know either. Frances of the cafeteria says, “We don’t know yet.” Still, that is the most plausible answer.

Jamba Juice is a favorite drink for many kids, whether it’s Mango-a-go-go or Banana Berry, or other flavors. Though only strawberry and orange have been coming to Pine Valley, many youths still bought the drink. Since the favorite disappeared from our school, there have been complainers. Slowly, people put it in the back of their heads and forgot about it. This year, will Jamba Juice appear?

Schoolloop is the source where students can go online to check grades as well as current, late and missing assignments for each of their classes. However, not only students can go on Schoolloop, but parents, too. Do you think that parents should be allowed to use this program to  check their child’s grades and assignments? After all, this website was created for the benefit of students.

One reason that parents shouldn’t be allowed on Schoolloop is because it adds stress to the students. Often, they find their parents breathing down their necks every second of every day, pressing them to get assignments done, when they are handling it themselves easily. It makes students have even more pressure than they already do from their teachers. Brianna Russell says, “I don’t think parents should be allowed on Schoolloop because sometimes they get to see the grades before students and it’s not fair the parents get to see it first.” Brianna brings up a good point. Students want to be the first to know how they are doing in school, because it is after all, their grade. Perhaps you get a zero for an absence and it affects your grade until you make it up. Your parents would be on you for that faster than you can say, “I was absent.” 

Another point is that it would give the teachers more e-mails to answer. Some parents like to talk to the teacher about why their child is getting his/her grade, and that can cause big deal of work for the teachers. Although parents are great for many things, Schoolloop isn’t one of them, because life can be so much easier when your mom and dad aren’t pushing you all the time. 

Are you athletic?

A: Totally

B:No

C:Depends

What part of your body is stronger?

A:Arms

B:Legs

C:Back

Are you a violent person?

A:Yes

B:Maybe...

C:No

Would you dedicate yourself to a sport?

A:Yes

B:Maybe

C:Always

Are you a team player?

A:Sometimes 

B:Totally

C:Most of the time

6.Will you break records for your sport?

A:Yes

B:No

C:All the time

7:Are you able to run long distances well?

A:Depends on what day

B:Yes

C:No

8.Do you actually like sports?

A:No!!! I love them

B:They’re okay

C:Yes

Your personality is...

A:Outgoing, a little bossy sometimes

B:Easy going, friendly

C:Quick, really sporty

Mostly A’s: You are softball/baseball. You can run fast and are good at getting the ball. Look forward to the oncoming season and have fun.

Mostly B’s: You love soccer. Soccer requires good sportsmanship, which you have a lot of. Try new positions and practice your skills.

Mostly C’s: Swimming is your sport. Exercise hard and stretch a lot. 

Mix: Try lacrosse. Lacrosse is a good sport if you love to run. All though it is hard try your best.

April 1 April Fool’s Day

April 9-13 Spring Break

April 23-27 Book Fair

April 27 - Spring Dance

April 30 - May 8th  STAR Testing

May 4 - Walk-A-Thon in PE

Editor in Chief:

Tracy Elizabeth Schluntz 

Staff Writers: Nicole Baer, Shaelah Burke, Sarah Chi, Sophie Cipolla, 

Tracey Counts, Savannah Garcia, Rachael Gasparini, Noah Gonzales, Brandon Graham, Kaitlin Groleau, Alisa Horiike, Stephanie Jahncke, Emma Kroger, Sammy Morgan Nicholson, Kieran O’Connor, Jamie Quilalang, Sydney Quilalang, Lela Reagan, Allison Schiffman, Charlotte Tan, Sophie 

Vergara and Stephanie Yip.

Blogmaster: Akarsh Rao

Questions?  Comments?  Suggestions?

Contact Mrs. Schluntz at

tschluntz@srvusd.net

Or leave a note in her box in the office.